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Well, it's always incredibly exciting for the WWE Universe when WWE announces new signings, and today, seven new stars have been confirmed as the Performance Center's new recruits.
The group of seven, headlined by former wrestling champion Matt Riddle, includes featured standouts from wrestling's global independent scene and cross-sport superstars from the worlds of rugby and basketball respectively.
They will all begin life as WWE Superstars by training at the incredibly impressive WWE Performance Center in preparation for life in the squared circle as a touring WWE Superstar. All seven will debut on NXT initially, with some already being no stranger to a WWE .
While some of them are no stranger to the squared circle and would definitely go under the "familiar faces" category as opposed to up and coming unknown prospects, there's no doubt these seven stars form a very exciting group for the WWE Universe.
So, who are they? Sportskeeda has you covered. Here's some need-to-know info on WWE's newest recruits.
#7 Daniel Vidot
Daniel Vidot is a 28-year-old former National Rugby League player set to debut in WWE after completing a successful tryout last year. Vidot revealed his WWE gimmick as the Samoan Ghost earlier in the year, but hit red tape by the way of VISA issues, so has only just joined up with the WWE.
Vidot represented Samoa at international level and has previously played as a winger in the National Rugby League for the Canberra Raiders, St. George Illawarra Dragons, Brisbane Broncos & Gold Coast Titans. He also played for the Salford Red Devils in the Super League.
The Samoan retired from rugby to pursue a wrestling career and has now signed with WWE.
#6 Jordan Omogbehin
One of the obvious standouts from the group is Jordan Omogbehin. Towering over the rest of the recruits at 7-foot-3, the 370-pounder is originally from Lagos, Nigeria.
While Omogbehin isn't by any means experienced when it comes to wrestling, it isn't difficult to see why WWE have added the imposing basketball player to their new recruits.
The Nigerian star played college basketball at the University of South Florida and Morgan State University in Baltimore and, while he's joined up with the WWE Performance Center, it may be a while before we see Omogbehin on television.
#5 Humberto Carrillo
Humberto Carrillo is a third-generation luchador from Monterrey, Mexico, who recently debuted on NXT TV against Jaxson Ryker of The Forgotten Sons.
Independent wrestling fans may know of Carrillo as Ultimo Ninja, and he comes from the famed Garza dynasty. WWE fans may remember the late Hector Garza, Carrillo's uncle, who wrestled in both WCW and WWE in the 1990s. Carrillo is a superstar in Mexico,but also competed in Japan’s Pro Wrestling NOAH.
#4 Luis Martinez
At name value, you may struggle to place Luiz Martinez, but replace his forename with "Punishment" and he may seem more familiar.
The 6-foot-5, 270-pound striker was trained at the Monster Factory in New Jersey and has previously won Ring of Honor’s Survival of the Fittest tournament in 2017 and faced off against Jay White for the IWGP United States title earlier this year.
Martinez has wrestled Lio Rush and the War Raiders in the past, too.
Martinez was one of the main showcases at ALL IN in Chicago, starring in a battle royal starring Billy Gunn, Austin Gunn, Colt Cabana, Bully Ray, Hurricane Helms, Moose, Marko Stunt, Flip Gordon and many others.
Martinez became Television Champion after defeating Silas Young back in June and also wrestled at ALL IN. He recently retained the title against Chris Sabin at Death Before Dishonor but dropped the title to Jeff Cobb at TV tapings shortly after.
#3 Chelsea Green
Chelsea Green most recently made her name in Impact Wrestling, where she performed as Laurel Van Ness and held the Knockouts Championship, but Green also appeared on WWE television on the 2015 series of Tough Enough alongside current SmackDown stars Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, and Patrick Clark - now known as NXT's Velveteen Dream.
Green left Impact Wrestling earlier this year and has filmed for the current season of Lucha Underground, as well as competing on the independents against some of the biggest names in women's wrestling, including Tessa Blanchard. Green appeared at a WWE tryout last month before competing at ALL IN.
Chelsea Green is a product of Lance Storm’s Storm Wrestling Academy in Calgary (the same school where Tyler Breeze, Peyton Royce and Oney Lorcan trained) and was a multi-sport athlete who excelled in soccer, volleyball, basketball and track before venturing into the squared circle.
#2 Mia Yim
Mia Yim is highly regarded as one of the top women's wrestlers in the world. Working in Impact Wrestling from 2012-2017 under the moniker of Jade, former Knockouts Champion would go on to appear in WWE as enhancement talent in 2014-2015, as well as appearing as one of Adam Rose's Rosebuds (who hasn't?) and wrestling Charlotte Flair in NXT.
More recently, Mia Yim has competed in both Mae Young Classic tournaments, defeating Sarah Logan in the inaugural tournament before losing to eventual runner up and former NXT Champion Shayna Baszler.
Yim suffered a leg injury in late 2017 forcing her to adjust her style, but after drawing on her taekwondo background and almost a decade of wrestling experience, she's still regarded as one of the best on the planet.
Yim lost to Toni Storm in the Quarter Finals of this year's Mae Young Classic but received “Please sign Mia” chants from the WWE Universe, which led to WWE COO Triple H offering her a contract. Yim will be action sooner rather than later, with her television debut set for next week's NXT.
#1 Matt Riddle
The headliner of this round of recruits is “The King of Bros” Matt Riddle.
Riddle was announced as NXT’s latest blockbuster signee at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV in August. The King of Bros is an MMA star turned wrestler who boasts a meteoric rise in both fields - rising to the top of the independent circuit after a holding a winning record in UFC’s welterweight division during his MMA career.
Riddle has held championships in PROGRESS Wrestling and EVOLVE Wrestling, among others and made his NXT in-ring debut at a Live Event in Florida in September, where he defeated Fabian Aichner.
Riddle is also set to debut on NXT television in the coming weeks after wrestling at the NXT tapings in Full Sail last night.
What do you think of WWE's newest recruits? Who will be the biggest success? Let us know in the comments.
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